


Scraps and Syntax

by kitaakes



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Crossover, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Marijuana, Trans Shirogane Naoto, gorosees nation wya
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:49:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 2,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27166159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitaakes/pseuds/kitaakes
Summary: This is a drabble collection with a variety of ship and gen fics in the Persona series! One chapter = one drabble.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Female Persona 3 Protagonist, Akechi Goro & Takamaki Ann, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 4 Protagonist/Shirogane Naoto
Comments: 20
Kudos: 38





	1. Goro Akechi/Persona 5 Protagonist - Second Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on [this](https://twitter.com/Poichanchan/status/1314442547280973824?s=20) art by @Poichanchan on twitter.

Goro can’t stop looking in the wrong direction. He should be focused on the game in front of him - the balls are right there, all he has to do is hit them, anyway, but when Kurusu looks like that, it’s impossible to focus on anything else. When he thinks about A- _Kurusu_ \- He needs to remind himself to use that term for him, because first names make things too personal - he thinks about how much he enjoys his company, which inevitably leads to him thinking about how things will end, with Kurusu’s head split open and -

The shot flies wide. The cue ball hits the side of the table and bounces, still hitting nothing.

To his ire, Kurusu smiles. “What’s wrong? Second thoughts?”

He hates it. How can Aki - _Kurusu, Kurusu, he has to be Kurusu to him_ \- always joke, act so light, turn everything into a moment of levity even when it shouldn’t be? He abhors how a part of him admires it, even as the rest of him wrenches up in pain. And talking to Kurusu forces him to look at him, which makes him think again.

So instead of responding properly, the way he should, he looks away again, and keeps his voice even to the point of coldness when he speaks.

“I was distracted for a moment, that’s all. Allow me to try again?”

Kurusu laughs, and he can see the way his face crinkles up from the corner of his eye. “Sure. Why not?”

This time, he doesn’t miss.


	2. Naoto Shirogane/Persona 4 Protagonist - Together Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on [this](https://twitter.com/peachdelta/status/1216260534690955265?s=20) art by @peachdelta on twitter. Set postcanon. I use he/him pronouns for Naoto.

To be frank, Naoto didn’t really expect to run into Souji again after nearly five years apart. But at some point, they’d both moved to Tokyo for work, and when Souji had reached out to Naoto again… well, why not meet an old friend?

But seeing Souji - a little older, a little wiser, and a whole lot more handsome - had brought old feelings back to the surface. He’d never been able to voice them to his former teammate, but they’d never really gone away, either, sitting in the back of his mind whenever it wandered to idle romantic fantasy. 

Souji’s as inquisitive as ever. “So, how’s that case you’ve been working on? I remember you mentioning something about old lab research?”

He grimaces without thinking. “Oh, the Isshiki case? It’s… difficult, to say the least. It’s full of dead ends. The fact that the main figure at the center of it dead doesn’t help matters....”

Souji nods, his gaze steely and focused as Naoto speaks. “And do you have any potentially promising leads?” 

“Well, Isshiki’s daughter is still alive, so if I can find her, there might be something there… or I could to talk to a former laboratory employee…” Naoto is so focused on his own response that he doesn’t notice Souji’s hand curling into his until their fingers are twined together. 

Souji’s smile is as warm and reassuring as he remembers it being. “Well, we can figure it out together, if you want. Just like old times, right?”

Naoto’s heart skips a beat. “Yeah. That sounds nice…”


	3. Goro Akechi & Makoto Niijima - After Hours at Debate Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on [this](https://twitter.com/hephasst/status/1315691309735141376?s=20) art by @hephasst on Twitter. Debate club AU, no powers, set in college.

Goro leers at Makoto from across the desk. “To be frank, I abhor you. I think every position you stand for is disgusting, and I hope that you rot where nobody finds you. You don’t deserve to be here.”

Makoto responds with equal venom, her face distorted with barely contained anger. “I think the same. I also think that you’re two-faced, irredeemably so. You think the worst of everyone, ask for too much, and clearly have more plans than I can even imagine.”

Something in Goro breaks. He throws his hands onto the desk, making a slamming sound and knocking a book over on a nearby shelf. “And what if I do? You can never hope to achieve my position, nor my skill, and your choice in career is despicable. You have no core identity besides bootlicking to speak of, and -”

The door opens, a leg equipped with the most heinous combination of socks and sandals sticking through the gap. Ryuji, it seems, has walked in at just the right time.

He loses no time making himself known, yawning slightly before he speaks. There’s a can of monster in one hand and a half-eaten block of uncooked ramen in the other. “Are you two in the middle of something?”

They straighten up instantly. Appearances are everything, after all. 

Goro shrugs and looks at Makoto with a trained smile on his face. “Nothing. Isn’t that right, Niijima-kun?”


	4. Goro Akechi & Ann Takamaki - Picture-Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on [this](https://twitter.com/nyacleicacid/status/1283122342122516481?s=20) art by @nyacleicacid on twitter.

It’s not a real argument, of course - they’re too close for that. 

“Let’s take a picture!”

“Absolutely not.”

“You’re no fun, you know that?”

“I’ve never tried to be “fun.” It wasn’t my priority.”

“You think I didn’t know that, Mr Ugly-Sweatervests-Are-My-Passion?”

Despite his protests, Ann coaxes Goro into letting a random passerby take their photo anyway. She practically drags him into place, positioning them both in front of the ocean and the setting sun.

The photographer makes a motion towards them. “You two ready?”

Goro nods, a smile effortlessly making its way onto his face.

He used to think that anything he appeared in needed to be picture-perfect - his TV clips, his food blog, his social media, even the way he spoke and acted on a daily basis. Everything was a performance meant for others. Sometimes, he finds it hard to accept that he lives in a reality where he can be himself with no consequences, but as Ann grabs his face and makes a peace sign for the camera, that feels like a lifetime ago. 

“One - two - three - smile!’


	5. Goro Akechi & Female Persona 3 Protagonist - Baking Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on [this](https://twitter.com/nonnecheri/status/1296900356970934272?s=20) art by @nonnecheri on twitter.

Goro should have known this was going to turn out terribly - he can’t even cook instant ramen without it catching on fire - but he didn’t think it would end up quite  _ this _ bad. The green slime that covers the former detective prince’s left side could only nominally be described as “frosting”, and he holds a sheet of ashes in his hands.

Fuuka’s bottom lip wobbles as she apologizes to Goro. “I didn’t think it’d be quite this hard to make cookies…”

  
“They’re really quite terrible… but I suppose it does make for a good lesson…” He eyes them nervously. 

Hamuko snakes around his side. “Actually, I think these look pretty good…”

Goro’s eyes narrow. He knows not to trust his best friend when she has a glint like that in her eyes. She’s about to cause problems on purpose. He makes eye contact with Fuuka, who gives him a worried look. 

“What do you think you’re -  _ ngrhrhgh! _ ” His speech is cut off halfway as Hamuko shoves a pile of burnt crumbs directly into his mouth. 

“Ha! I knew you’d open that big mouth of yours to speak!”

This sets off a chain reaction - Goro tries to spit out the cookie, which makes him flail his arms just a little, which causes him to hit Fuuka with the sheet, which sends the frosting flying from her arms - and suddenly, Hamuko’s face is covered in the stuff. Goro can’t help but laugh as he views her displeased expression. 

“I see your actions have come back to haunt you.”

Hamuko takes it in stride. “Oh, I know. But I’ll get back at you for this, just you wait.”

  
Suddenly, Goro is very afraid.


	6. Goro Akechi/Ryuji Sakamoto - Gym Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on [this](https://twitter.com/momomacaroni/status/1303766947289391104?s=20) art by @momomacaroni on twitter. No powers, Shujin AU.

Carrying his boyfriend -  _ the Vice President of Shujin, as Goro so often reminds him  _ \- is something that Ryuji is starting to get used to.

It started out as something silly. Ryuji lost a dare from a friend, said friend told him to “go try and pick up Goro Akechi”, and he completely misunderstood every word of that sentence. Instead of asking him out as poor Akira had intended him to do, he cornered Goro in their PE class and lifted him up onto his back. He remembers Goro’s words as clear as day, along with the flailing of his arms.

“Sakamoto-san, I’m going to have to ask you you put me down, I really think this is quite improper, and -” 

Ryuji had cut him off and put him back down before he protested too much. But since then, they’d become closer, and when they officially coupled up some time ago, it had become something of a habit for Ryuji to pick Goro up, hoist him into the air, and start to carry him back out of the gym.

Goro, who usually wasn’t affectionate in the slightest, was holding himself closer than usual, his head resting in the crook between Ryuji’s neck and shoulder.

“What’s gotten into you, dude? You feeling dizzy or something?”   
  
“Am I not allowed to show affection to my partner?”  _ Why’s he always gotta make things so difficult? _   
  
“Okay, you got it, you know I don’t mind, bu-” Goro shuts him up with a kiss to the cheek, which makes Ryuji’s whole face turn as red as their gym uniforms in short order. 

“Just keep walking. You’ll be fine.”


	7. Goro Akechi/Persona 5 Protagonist - A Knight to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on [this](https://twitter.com/fwaldarius/status/1272201317889437698?s=20) art by @fwaldarius on twitter. Fire Emblem: Three Houses AU.

They’d tried to cut through Gaspard territory to escape an especially cruel storm, but found themselves caught in the jaws of an ambush instead. Adrestian soldiers pour in from both sides of the wood, led by an imposing figure they’d only heard about in reports from border territory. The knight is mounted, with dark armor adorned with spikes that jut up from the shoulders. They carry a weapon to match - a blade that’s jagged at the edges - and Akira knows no crest weapon or holy relic could look so cruel. 

In the thick of combat, Akira almost forgets about the knight. He’s whipping around soldiers with the light footwork of an assassin, with Ryuji using his gauntlets to take care of any stragglers. Meanwhile, Ann effortlessly casts whatever’s needed; a healing spell here, a meteor there. All the while, the rain continues to bear down from overhead.

He strikes his blade through the necks of two more soldiers before Ann calls out from his side. 

“Akira! Watch out!” 

He feels the pain of the knight’s strike first, followed by the sight of a ghoulish black mask. They go for another, attempting to finish him off almost too quickly, and Akira ducks the blow. They try to catch him again, but Akira takes it as an opportunity to jump up and slash through their armor, leaving a deep line running through their forearm. As he attempts to move around it, the knight’s horse spooks, throwing the rider off and onto the ground. Lucky for him, not so much for the knight. 

The knight continues their assault anyway, with Akira barely ducking a fist from his side.  _ How reckless _ , he thinks.  _ This is a knight that fights as if they want to die, not to win.  _

Akira attempts to strike next, unsuccessfully. They’re caught together now, his small dagger caught in one of the serrations of their blade. Eventually, he slips it out, and turns around to hit the knight between right under one of the horns. It manages to cleave away part of the helmet - and a telltale red eye stares back at him. 

“Goro?”

This can’t be Goro - this isn’t the high strung paladin-in-training he knew from the academy. That boy fought cleanly, studied reason late into the night, did everything he could to be the perfect student. It can’t be his rival, the one who entered every tournament just to beat him. It  _ can’t _ be the boy who whispered in his ear at the Goddess Tower the night of the ball, who told him that -

He isn’t given the chance to speak any further. The knight -  _ Goro, it has to be, it can’t be anyone else  _ \- responds with a blow, bringing the pommel of his sword down onto Akira’s face to stun him before he can react properly. Now he’s the one on the ground, Goro looming over him.

“I told you we would meet again, didn’t I?”


	8. Maruki & Adam Kadmon smoke weed together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on [this](https://twitter.com/TETSUOSHlMA/status/1304923050387759104?s=20) art by @tetsuoshlma on twitter. Content warning for drug use.

When Maruki made the contract with Adam Kadmon that bound the two of them together (for better or worse), there were many things he anticipated: changing the world, new and uninhibited power, better therapy skills…

What he did  _ not _ expect, however, was to be hitting the fattest fucking blunt of his life in his apartment, golden man by his side. Was the manifestation of your will and rebellion supposed to be a good smoke buddy? Was this even allowed? Was the Adam in front of him real, or was it simply an Indica-based illusion?

Maruki turns to Adam after taking another drag from the blunt. “So… do you ever realize that there was a moment when your mom or dad put you down as a baby and never picked you back up again?”

Adam responds in a graveled voice. “Firstly, Takuto, I am a figment of your cognition made manifest. Secondly, I am representative of the original man. I have no parents, and was cast out of the Garden of Eden before anyone ever held me.” 

Maruki stares at him for a second, eyes slightly more wide than before. “So does this mean we’re finally on a first name basis?”

Adam shrugs. “I am thou, thou art I.”

Maruki lifts the blunt to his lips again. “Fascinating.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Visit me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/kitaakes), where I'll post updates about this collection regularly.


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